


Vignettes

by JadeHeart



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-10
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-11 12:05:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3326678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeHeart/pseuds/JadeHeart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One shots. Some lighter pieces.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

She enters his study. A thin layer of dust covers the instruments and measuring tools on his story desk. She scans the room, feels the emptiness that is as deafening as it is quiet.

The calendar on the wall displays an all too familiar date: the day her father was sent to prison. Like an old scar, the memories seem less painful, but indelible. Asami begins searching the drawers. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but it was time to pack up her father's things.

"Asami?" Korra said as she popped her head by the door.

"Oh, hey sweetie," Asami said as she snapped out of her reminiscence. She walked over to give the Avatar a kiss on the cheek. "You're back early from the city council meeting."

"I just slipped out during Tenzin's report. I asked him for a preview before the meeting… I thought I could help you with this," Korra said as she tenderly cupped Asami's hand in hers.

"You're so thoughtful," Asami said with a complacent smile. "I'll take on these rooms. Could you help with the East Wing? Those things can just be thrown in boxes."

"Sure. Let me know if there's anything else," Korra replied and stroked Asami's hand before she left the room. Korra understood that Asami needed time alone to pack Hiroshi's personal items.

Hands on her hips, Asami was unsure of where to start. She started digging into drawers, finding half-sketched concepts, post-it notes with forgotten numbers, and scattered small mint tin boxes. She picked one up.

The scent of spearmint invoked Hiroshi's image out of thin air. Asami breathed in deeply and sighed.

Then, she mechanically sorted through his belongings. After, she pressed a button to open a sliding door into his closet.

The hard part came. His wardrobe. There were lacquered finished shelves holding rows and rows of neatly folded clothing. She decided to start with his watch collection.

Laid in neat rows on a velvet pillow, they felt heavy and substantial. As she worked her way across the vanity table, she came across a small cherry wood finished box with emerald jewels lining the edges.

"I've never seen this before," Asami noted. She'd always explore his closet as a child. The box seemed to be placed deliberately to be noticed, right at the center.

Asami hesitantly lifted the box's lid. A mechanically raised pedestal appeared that held a smaller ring box. A note hung inside.

Dearest Asami, by the time you read this letter, I will no longer be with you. Your mother and I planned to pass on your mother's engagement ring to you when the time came. There are no words that express how much regret I feel for what I have done. I had always imagined that I would walk you down the aisle, but I'm not the father that I used to be. I hope that this engagement ring will help you find eternal happiness and love. I trust that you'll choose someone worthy of your extraordinary character. You've accomplished more than I could've ever dreamed of. 

Love, 

HS

She pried open the ring box. A modest platinum band of diamonds with alternating French sapphires sparkled in the light.

She held the box in her palm and admired its intricate design.

"Asami?"

Asami jumped and she grasped at the box to prevent it from falling from her hands. She kept her back towards Korra.

"Yes, Korra?" Asami said, trying to regain her composure.

"I finished packing the East Wing. Do you want me to help you here?" Korra asked tenderly.

"Umm," Asami stuttered, "I'm almost done! Just a few things left. How about throwing that shelf of pants into a box?"

Korra noticed Asami hadn't moved a muscle. "Are you okay, Asami?"

Asami hastily placing the ring box on the vanity table, pivoted around, and backed up a few steps. "Yeah, I just …didn't know where to start."

"Okay, I'll just go get more boxes and be right back. "

When Korra left the room, Asami stuffed the ring box into her pocket. She couldn't risk ruining the surprise.

Her secretary appeared at the doorway. "Miss Sato, I'm sorry to interrupt. Your shipping manager wants to speak with you immediately." Asami rushed out of the room with her secretary.

Korra came back with a pile of boxes up to her head. "Asami, will this be enough?" When she did not hear a response, she stuck her head out to the side. She saw a note hanging in a box.

"Another note about missing dinner, eh?" Korra said as she put down the boxes and walked over to the emerald lined box.

She picked up the note and read it twice. Korra looked for the ring box to no avail.

"I guess I'll have to move up my proposal!"


	2. Once in a while, when Asami's working...

Asami sits at a tea table with papers strewn all over. She scrutinizes the papers with a pencil lightly tapping her temple. A brewing cup of ginseng tea is at the corner of the table. 

 

A: Hmm...

 

Korra walks in the door. Asami is engulfed in her world of contracts and so she doesn't notice. 

 

The Avatar smiles at the sight of her businesswoman girlfriend. 

 

K: Hey babe! *pecks Asami on the cheek* lots of work today? *plops down on the couch adjacent to the tea table* 

 

A: Oh, sorry sweetie. *smiles* Yeah, I'm helping Raiko with renovations to the transit system. Got to get this done soon. How was the city council meeting? 

 

K: Cool. Got out early. I'm excited about the new changes coming. I'm exhausted though. *lays down with arm over eyes*

 

A: Why don't you rest a bit, honey. *goes back to reading contracts* 

 

K: *peeks under her arm at Asami, smiles mischieviously. Pretends to sleep for a few minutes.*

 

A: *picks up a contract to read closely*

 

K: *slyly airbends a small breeze with her finger* 

 

A: *paper drops from her hand. Bends down to pick it up and...*

 

K: *props up and smooches her on the cheek*

 

A: *blushes, has no idea what happened* i thought you were napping. *smooches her back*

 

K: Yeah... Hey, your tea is getting cold. *picks up tea mug, fire bends warmth* 

 

A: Thanks, love. 

 

K: *smiles, looks at teacup*

 

A: *continues reading*

 

K: *waits a few moments.... Air bends again.* 

 

Papers fall off the corner of the table. Asami furrows her forehead. Looks at the windows. It's closed. She picks them up without getting up. Korra puts down her teacup, and helps her pick up the papers. As they're picking them up, Korra kisses Asami on the cheek again. 

 

A: *smiles* are you behind why my papers keep mysteriously falling to the floor? 

 

K: No. *looks away nervously* I just closed the window...

 

A: *looks at her with a suspicious smile, continues trying to finish reading* 

 

K: *waits for Asami to get engrossed again... Then she slyly scoots closer.*

 

A: *oblivious* 

 

K: *scoots closer...*

 

A: *oblivious*

 

K: *aaand closer... Until she's a few inches from her face* 

 

A: *.... Notices something----*

 

K: *smooches her right on the cheek* Maybe I was! *runs out of the room, whacky grin on her face*

 

A: *mischievious smile, throws down her pencil and chases after her*

 

Running through the hallways and down the stairs, Korra quickly descends each step with light-footed accuracy until ---

 

Asami leaps and tackles Korra onto a flat portion of the stairs. They tumble for a slight second, but Korra, grinning ear to ear, ends up straddling Asami. Asami tickles Korra and Korra falls over, laughing uncontrollably. Asami ends up on top. Both are smiling and chests are heaving from laughing and breathlessness. 

 

K: No fair, I still haven’t found your ticklish spot.

 

A: Why don’t you find out? 

 

K: *tries to tickle her*

 

A: *leans forward, just inches from Korra’s face* Looks like you’re the only thing I’m going to get done tonight.

And they kiss. But then they giggle for a second. And then Korra grabs Asami closer and kisses her deeply. 

 

K: Just a stress reliever, you know?

 

A: Mhm… Just kiss me.


	3. Because they’re such a cute couple, a walk to their first date is just omg

It’s a rainy day in Republic City. The sky is cold and gloomy, but Korra’s simply glowing after a long day of training. 

“You look especially...excited after training,” Mako says to Korra as they catch a few breaths on a bench in the courtyard. The awning above them is the only thing keeping the rain from giving them a cold shower. 

“I’m always excited,” Korra replies as she rests her elbows on the bench, smiling into the distance. Her chest is still heaving and burning from sprinting through the obstacle course on Meelo’s militant commands.

“IIII knoooow that face,” Mako says teasingly as he draws out the phrase. 

“What face?” Korra looks at him, confused and slightly embarrassed.

“Oh, nothing,” Mako says nonchalantly, kicking back against the wall.

Korra’s face is glowing a slightly bright red now. She nudges him in the ribs. Mako laughs, seeing how flustered she is.

“I’ll just continue my officer physical training while you daydream about your ‘hot date later,’” Mako teases. And he jogs off into the rain, towards the obstacle course. 

Korra’s cheeks feel slightly hot. She calls after him, “You’re glad we’re friends or else I would’ve water smacked you in the mouth!”

“What’d you say?” Mako yells back as he continues dodging a swinging pendulum. “I can’t hear you over you and Asami galloping into the sunset!” When he lands on the other side of the platform, he mimics a galloping horse and Korra can see his miniature figure in the distance hopping up and down, and then smacking his knee from laughing at his own joke.

Korra opens her mouth to shout back a meaty comeback but --- 

“SOLDIER! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!” Meelo’s voice makes Korra jump in her seat. The booming yet high pitched voice that comes out of that little boy…

“YOU’RE GOING TO KEEP RUNNING THAT COURSE LIKE YOU MEAN IT OR ELSE YOU’LL REGRET EVER SITTING YOUR BUTT DOWN, YOU HEAR ME?”

“Meelo, I was just taking a--”

TOOOOT TOOOOOT, Meelo blows on a whistle. “I said MOVE OUT! NO BREAKS ALLOWED IN MY CAMP! DON’T MAKE ME GET THE LEMURS ON YOU!”

Korra throws her head back and jogs to the obstacle course.

“RUN, SOLDIER, RUN!” Meelo shouts at her, following her on a ball of rotating air. “I WANNA SEE THAT BLUSH TURN INTO A BLUSH OF DETERMINATION!”

“Geez, is it that obvious?!” 

He crosses his arms with his nose in the air. “As clear as how good my mommy makes rice cakes.” TOOOOT “YOU CALL THAT RUNNING?! I WANNA SEE YOUR LEGS GROW THEIR OWN LEGS! YOU DON’T WANNA BE LATE FOR YOUR DATE DO YOU, SOLDIER?! DROP AND GIVE ME 2,000!”

Korra sighs and drops down to do clapping push ups.

“DID I SAY YOU COULD STOP RUNNING?! RUN AND CLAP, AVATAR! OR ARE YOU NOT THE SAME AVATAR THAT SAVED THE WORLD FOUR TIMES?!” 

Korra shakes her head, “Why, today, why,” and she drops into a clapping push-up gets up to sprints a few meters, and repeats over and over. 

“THAT’S THE MOST MEELO BOOTCAMP ENCOURAGEMENT YOU’RE GETTIN’ TODAY!”

“What puberty has in store for you, I don’t even want to know,” Korra mutters under her breath as she lowers herself into another push-up.

~~

“Hey, Korra, you’re here early,” Asami says in a voice as sweet as honey. Korra’s face lights up when she sees Asami. Asami’s voice soothes Korra’s ears, especially after Meelo’s incessant shouting and scolding session. The CEO puts down her papers and greets Korra with a hug at the door into her office.

Asami’s office is warm and cozy. Asami pauses a bit, noticing Korra is not returning the embrace.

“Sorry, I can’t feel my arms,” Korra says in a rundown voice. “Meelo trains like a madman.” 

Asami chuckles and pulls away. She gives Korra’s arms a gentle squeeze. “Did he try to make you rotate the island this time?”

“Oh, not again. Pema would kill me.”

“Was Tenzin busy from training you today?” 

“Unfortunately. It makes me almost miss his meditating sessions. Just almost. Mind if I sit down before we go?” Korra hungrily eyes the velvet couch by the wall. 

“Sure, I just have some things to look over anyway.” Asami quickly walks back to her desk, but right when she sits down, Korra’s appearance slightly takes her breath away.

Korra looks at herself and gets a bit self-conscious. “What?” she says with the smallest movement of her mouth.

“Your hair…” Asami clears her throat. “Why is your hair wet?” Asami says with a hint of curiosity and something else. 

“Oh,” Korra just notices her hair is dripping onto the floor, “it’s raining--”

Asami blinks her eyes. She knows it’s raining.

“And, I was going to bend it out, but, you know, the arms.” Korra glances at the things that felt like planets hanging from her shoulders. “Sorry, I wanted to look all nice for our first date, but that didn’t work...” 

“You’re adorable,” Asami says. “You’re perfect just the way you are. But I don’t want you to catch something; there’s a hair dryer in the bathroom if you want.” The CEO places a contract in her finished pile.

Korra slightly blushes at Asami’s compliment. “I’m just going to rest… here for a bit. Let me know when you’re ready.” Her heart’s beating a little fast. 

“Sure. The restaurant’s just a few blocks away, right?” The CEO says as she uncaps her pen and starts annotating some papers. 

“Yup,” Korra says before she plops down on the couch like a thousand pound rock. 

~~

“Ready,” Asami says with an air of triumph as she straightens up a pile of papers. 

Korra props up, strands of hair ridiculously stick up at the back of her head. The strands that frame her face are still dripping slightly from the rain. “Ready!” she says with a big grin on her face that demonstrates her excitement but belies her nervous heart. 

Asami smiles, and holds back an adoring laugh. She walks into her luxuriously equipped bathroom and brings out a soft, glowing white small towel. “Your ears are probably still ringing from Meelo’s session, right?” She gently starts to wipe the tips of Korra’s hair dry.

“Yeah, how’d you know?” Korra says as she notices that Asami is so close to her face, she could see the beautiful, precise outline of her eyeliner and ever-so-faint worry lines between her emerald eyes.

“Just a guess. That’s why I’m sparing you from the hair dryer.” 

“Thanks,” Korra says, feeling odd calmed and dazed at the sensation of Asami finger-combing through her wet hair. But then, Korra frowns when she stops.

“I just remembered!” Asami, still holding onto the towel, grabs an envelope from her desk and eyes the date on it. “I need to drop this off down the hall at someone’s desk.” She looks at Korra with smiling eyes and hands her the towel. “I’ll meet you at the lobby, okay?”

Korra smiles again and takes the towel. Her arm slightly screams in protest. “Okay, don’t keep me waiting too long.”

“You? Never.”

~~

Korra doesn’t feel slightly weird that she’s drying her hair like a wet dog in front of the Future Industries receptionist who keeps glancing at her. He’s young and impressionable. She doesn’t feel weird until, at least, she thinks that the _receptionist thinks_ that she showered at Asami’s office. (Yes, Asami Sato has a shower at her office. Like many businesses that work insane hours do.) Korra’s hair is wet. She’s holding a towel in her hand. It doesn’t help that the receptionist is different from the one that greeted her upon first entry. It also doesn’t look good publicity-wise if word gets out that the CEO has the Avatar shower in her personal office. 

Korra freezes. She looks at the receptionist, who looks away immediately and pretends to busy himself with papers on his desk.

“Umm, excuse me?” She manages to say to the receptionist, who slightly jumps at the Avatar speaking to him. 

“Y-yes, Avatar Korra?” He takes a rather deliberate gulp. 

“Do you happen to have an umbrella? I got pretty soaked walking here.” 

A rush of something, Korra can’t pinpoint it, falls over his face. Relief? It didn’t look like relief because Korra could see that he was blushing. 

“Um, yes, Avatar Korra!” he slightly stutters as he quickly searches the drawers around him. “I think there’s an extra umbrella here… somewhere…”

“I have one!” Asami’s voice echoes down the hall. With one arm, she’s carrying a maroon umbrella with a small Future Industries logo engraved in gold onto the handle. With the other, a briefcase and portfolio.

Korra’s grin just gets wider as Asami walks closer to her. “You’re just...radiant,” Korra manages to say to her date, who looks like she’s more put together than before.

“Oh, thanks,” Asami says in such a sweet way that Korra’s heart might just burst from her chest. “Here, he can take that,” the CEO takes the towel and hands it to the receptionist. 

He bows with his head and takes it with two hands. “Thank you, Miss Sato.”

“Thank _you_ ,” she says genuinely. “Now, don’t stay too late.”

He bows his head again, a little too eagerly, he notices. “Thank you, Miss Sato. Have a good evening, ladies.” 

The two walk outside and Korra frowns because it’s pouring and the streets are so noisy with rain, cars whizzing by, and just the usual bustle of downtown Republic City. It’s not exactly the best night for a first dinner date. And, all these conditions aren’t helping with her nerves. 

“He’s quite the charmer,” Asami says as she opens up the umbrella, a bit awkwardly since she is holding so much in her hands. 

“My arms are fine.” Korra replies, slightly raising her voice above the noise. “I can hold the umbrella,” she offers to save Asami the inconvenience. 

“No, no, I said, he-is quite-the char-mer!” Asami says louder.

“Oh! I heard, ‘do your arms hurt?’” 

A car whizzes by with a roar of the rain. “Whaat?” Asami cranes her neck closer to Korra. Korra can see the tender part of neck, peeking below her stray hairs and it causes her to slightly go dizzy. Korra quickly grabs the umbrella from Asami’s hand to distract herself. Asami raises her eyebrows, but shrugs off the passing topic.

But Korra’s arms scream and feel like rubber bands about to snap. She pushes through the pain. 

They step down a rather high curb, and Korra steps down too quickly, bringing the umbrella down against Asami’s head, but at perfect height for the Avatar. Asami ducks to prevent her hair from rising. 

Then they step down another curb and it happens again.

And, again.

When they reach an intersection, Asami pokes Korra’s arm. “Hey, Korra?” Asami points at the umbrella. 

Korra notices that Asami is slightly hunched over at this point. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” Korra apologizes in horror and pumps the umbrella overly high. The alarms in Korra’s head were blaring, “Horrible date! Horrible date! It hasn’t even started!”

Asami places a calming hand on Korra’s hand holding the umbrella. She whispers into Korra’s ear, “Do you want me to take over?” 

The hair on Korra’s neck tingles, and she manages to say, “We’re almost there!” But really, to Korra, it feels like they’ve been walking for miles. 

The rain continues to shower down on them and a car nearly ran them over at an intersection. The traffic is ridiculous at this hour as they pile into the streets. Satomobiles honk with endless, rhythmless intervals, filling the air with even more urban noise.

“Good thing we didn’t drive!” Asami says as Korra helps her step over a puddle.

“What’s like a dive?” Korra repeats as she steps down a curb.

Asami smiles and shakes her head. “Drive! Good thing we did not drive!” 

“Oh!” Korra says as she accidentally brings the underside of the umbrella down on Asami’s head again. 

Asami bursts out laughing and steadies the umbrella higher with her free hand. Korra smiles sheepishly, before looking down nervously at the ground. The CEO finds it adorable, and she wants to kiss Korra on the cheek to calm her down, but she decides against it.

Korra’s blushing a bright red, and finally she can’t stand it, the wind, the rain, the noises, the nervousness, her sore muscles altogether. “Forget it.” With one quick wave of Korra’s free hand, she waterbends a rain-repelling cloud above their heads, and closes the umbrella. Immediately, the rain seems to be a lot of quieter and the rain seems farther off. “This works a lot better.”

Asami smiles and she starts to lightly laugh with her hand over her mouth.

Korra slumps her shoulders. “We’re here, aren’t we?” Asami can only manage to nod her head, yes.

Korra finally notices the soft glow of the restaurant lights on the sidewalk. She lets out a disgruntled sigh as she whizzes the cloud away. Asami can’t resist giving Korra a pre-emptive peck on the cheek, but once she does, Korra freezes up and melts into the floor. “Goodbye, world.” She pretends to faint and fall backwards.

Asami’s never seen Korra so flustered before and it charms her so much, she thinks her heart is going to combust. She catches Korra in her arms and says through laughter, “Hey, you still owe me our first date!”

“I think… I… I might need another kiss to revive me…” Korra says with an over-dramatic voice. Korra hardly notices Asami’s hard briefcase poking into her back. 

“Maybe...when you let me hold the umbrella next time.” She flashes a crooked grin at Korra, who’s still gazing at her from below and is quite enjoying being held in Asami’s arms. 

“...Deal.” Korra says definitively as she swims in those emerald eyes illuminated by a soft warm glow.

“Um, Korra,” Asami says with some struggle in her voice. “My briefcase makes it a little hard to hold you--” 

“Sorry!”


	4. cactus juice tasting...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra and Asami go cactus juice tasting. This chapter didn't turn out the way I wanted, but I need to get this head canon out of my system.

“You ready for this? They call it our entry into adulthood.” She loops her arm through Korra’s. 

“Uh, sure. I’ve just always wondered what the hype was all about.”

She understands and nods her head. “This whole cactus juice thing is a bit overrated. Let’s just have fun,” she flashes a smile at Korra.

“What can I start off for you girls?” The server taps his fingers on the counter. “Your tasting comes with six different flavors.”

With an excited smile, Asami takes one glance at the tasting menu and makes a decision. “How about the…Si Wong White?” 

He fixes up two shiny looking glasses with a light golden liquid and swishes it around in the glass. 

Korra takes one glass, cautiously sniffs it, and feels her nose burn. She throws the glass back down on the table with a scowl. “Ugh, why does it smell like medicine?”

“It’s… fermented cactus juice. It’ll always smell like that.” The juicer gives her a raised eyebrow like she’s from another planet.

She glances at Asami who’s daintily holding the glass and slowly tipping the glass to touch her lips. After she takes a sip, Asami closes her eyes like she’s experiencing the liquid course throughout her body. “Mmm,” she groans. “I can taste the floral notes and the hint of desert flower petals that gives it that light, aromatic flavor. It really reminds of the oasis vineyards with a hint of palm tree spray. Were these cacti grown in the winter or the spring? I’m sensing a full body spring.” 

Korra’s mouth is open in shock and her eyebrow looks like it might just jump off her forehead. 

“Why, you are correct! You are a natural! Is this your first tasting?” The server said.

“Something like that,” Asami says with a sly grin, avoiding Korra’s glare. 

“Well, I’ve got a treat for you. Let me go get your second bottle of cactus juice.”

Korra crosses her arms. “Well, aren’t you a sneaky cactoholic? What happened to ‘let’s go to our first tasting together! It’ll be so fun!’”

“Well, technically this **is** the first time that we are together at a tasting. I didn’t mean that this would be our first tasting ever.” 

“But--” Korra raises her finger in protest. “Hmm. Alright, fine, but you tricked me.”

“I did no such thing,” Asami half-innocently as she reaches for Korra’s full glass. “You sure you don’t want to try a sip?” She swishes around the glistening juice in front of Korra.

“Nah. I’ll try the next one.”

“Alright, more for me,” Asami shrugs and downs the glass. 

“Ladies, do I have a surprise for you!” The server says excitedly with a bottle in each of his hands. “You can pick between our top selling dessert cactus juice or our driest, fullest bodied cactus barrelled juice! One’s sweet, good for the ladies,” he flexes his eyebrows, “and the other’s dry like the Si Wong desert itself. We call it Fire Cactus. It’s the strongest of the house!” 

“Fire Cactus,” Asami says without flinching. 

“Uh, no,” Korra protests. “I”ll have the first one. I’m not an alcoholic like this one,” she pokes Asami, who nudges her back. 

“I prefer, cactus juice connoisseur,” Asami playfully flips her hair. 

“Oh, please, just don’t get your hair in my glass,” Korra lightly nudges her. 

“Funny dames!” He pours them each a glass and he notices more customers piling in. “I’ll check back with you gals in a bit.”

“Alright, Korra, here I go. Wish me luck,” she winks at Korra before she takes a sip and the liquid burns her tongue and her throat. “Wow!” she says as she sets down the glass. “That’s like eating fire with a delightful aftertaste.”

“Really? Let me try,” Korra reaches for Asami’s glass and Asami happily hands it to her. Once Korra takes a sip, her entire mouth burns and has to suppress the reflex to fire bend out of her mouth. She puts both hands over her mouth to prevent it. Asami cautiously leans back. 

“OH my spirits, you are so right!” Korra says, amazed how this little sip of cactus juice can make her mouth burn but also make her feel strangely light on her feet. Then, she belches and a cloud of smoke floats out of her mouth.

“That’s never happened before!!” Korra laughs and blushes slightly that she just burped in front of Asami. She kind of wishes Bolin was here at this moment, but then Asami just laughs it off.

Asami bursts out laughing. “Fire Cactus bending!” she points her finger at Korra and says a little too loudly. The other customers tasting nearby shoot them worried looks. 

Asami’s laughter is contagious and Korra finds herself holding her stomach from laughing uncontrollably. 

“Hey, hey,” Asami paws at Korra’s shoulder, “let me wash my mouth out with your drink,” she downs the entire glass. 

Korra’s eyes grow big, ‘Hey, hey! I didn’t even get to try it!” 

“Oops, “ Asami places a finger over her lips like she’s shushing herself and she lightly giggles. 

“I’m gonna take yours then!” Korra playfully snatches the glass from Asami, who’s laughing and leaning against the counter. 

“Korra, don’t burn my eyebrows off,” Asami whispers loudly and chuckles.

“I wouldn’t hurt that pretty face of yours,” Korra replies and when she looks at Asami, Asami is looking straight at her with a smile on her face. It makes Korra slightly blush, and Korra wonders why she even said that, so she quickly adds a slight eye roll because she thinks it’ll make that comment seem less weird. She swallows the drink quickly and winces as the liquid burns with less intensity. 

“Nice one, Korra. You look like you’re getting used to it,” Asami says proudly as Korra sets down the empty glass.

“Yeah, can I have our server’s job? I’d like to do juice tasting all day. Like.. WHAT IF this was your job? LIKE, you drink and talk to people?!”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m supposed to do, for business and shit.” Asami says a little resentfully. 

“Seriously?” 

“Juicin’ and schmoozin’, that’s what they call it.” Asami lightly drummed the counter, trying to dispel growing tension in her. 

“Well, it sounds like it isn’t so bad! I mean, look at how much fun we’re having.” Korra says trying to console Asami, who’s starting to frown.

Asami picks up Korra’s glass, trying to find any remnant of juice at the bottom.. “Yeah, until every guy is trying to hit on you.”

“That’s TERRIBLE! LIke what generation is it?! Hell, what am I doing with my life! I’m the freaking Avatar! First thing when we get back to Republic City - make guys stop hitting on you when you don’t want it!”

“OK, Korra,” Asami laughs.

The server comes back with another bottle. “Hey, ladies, I love how you’re having a great time. Here’s some water for you,” he shoots a look at Korra. “It’ll help with the effects.” 

“What effects? I feel squeaky fine!” Korra shouts, slightly disoriented. “I’m fine, right Asami?”

“You might want to drink some water,” Asami says gently while drinking her own glass of water. 

Korra shrugs it off and downs the entire glass of water. 

“Alright, here’s your last tastings. Here’s five different juices, I threw in an extra for you gals,” he winks at both of them. “Take this one first because you want to move from the fruity notes to the real earthy ones. Unconventional, but that’s how we do it here! I’ll be back in a few!” He speeds away as the counters are getting crowded with more people coming in as the evening passes by. 

“Hey, Korra,” Asami says to her, looking at her up and down, but Korra’s too amazed at her sudden change in balance to notice.

“Yeeeah? Hey, that water worked. I don’t feel so imbalanced anymore.”

“Good! You’ll need to stand up for these, I think.” Asami pushes herself off the counter that she’s been leaning on. “Whoa,” she says as her world spins a bit.

“You okay?” Korra holds onto her, a bit worriedly.

Asami looks at her seriously for a moment. Then, “BAHHAHAHAHAHHA,” Asami bursts out laughing. 

Korra backs up in confusion. 

“Did you see your face?” Asami struggles to say between heavy breaths and laughter. She’s holding onto the countertop to stabilize herself.

Korra pouts but then the cactus juice in her system prevents her from holding onto any emotions for too long and she also starts to laugh, absorbing Asami’s laughter that fills the air in a strangely delightful way. “Hahahahahahahahahahaha!” The background noise seems to fade away. 

Asami pats Korra on the back. “You’re so caaaring,” Asami draws out that word as her head leans on Korra’s shoulder. 

“Hey, you gotta learn to control yourself, or else you’ll throw all your money away at these schmoozin’ meetings and make crap deals.”

“Oh, really?” Asami says skeptically and playfully. “You think I can’t handle myself?” She leans in so close to Korra’s face, Korra can see the lipstick liner slightly faded around the corners of her mouth. “Can I throw money at you?” Asami says a little more seductively than she imagined.

“What? I’m not a-- what?” Korra says as her brain fights to process what Asami just said and her own sense of balance going awry. Her eyes seem to roll around and they fixate on the shiny, green and rainbow colored liquids beautifully arranged in geometric glasses. She picks the second glass up. 

“Oh! One more thing, ladies,” the server slides in. “Here’s a piece of fudge. Right before you start the first one here, eat this. It’ll bring out the flavor like, KAPOW!” he says with his fingers flashing like fireworks before he disappears behind a hoard of servers. 

“You heard him, KAPOW!” Asami mocks him as she picks up the first glass.

“Wait, you wanted to- to throw-- money? At me?” Korra says as her eyelids are now fighting to stay open. 

“No, no, Korra, I was just joking," Asami places a hand on Korra's arm. "Just forget I said that. Pretend a sparkly spirit just took the words away and whooosh! Never happened! Ah hah hah, huh,” Asami raises the first glass to her lips. 

Korra brings the glass to her lips and drinks half the glass before saying, “Like, you drive real fancy satomobiles and shit” Korra continues like she did not hear a word of Asami just said, “but I don’t need your money. Like, ish okay, Asssamii. Youu may beeee all like, shuper hot, when you drive a satomobile shuper fast with your hair all in the wiiiinds, but you know, I don’t care if you have money.” Korra swings her wrist and downs the glass in one swoop. 

Asami slowly blinks at her as she is hunched over the counter. “Sooo you’re… not mad?” 

“Mad? Mayyybe I was. I can’t rememberrr.”

Asami chuckles. “I think you also forgot the wrong order of drinking these things,” she taps Korra on the nose. 

Korra blinks at the tap on her nose and she notices that Asami is smiling at her with the widest of smiles, like she is the happiest person in the world and the thought makes her feel fuzzy on the inside, but also slightly confused because this was her friend that was looking at her all lovey-dovey… and she was enjoying it. “What’s like… what’s happening?”

“What?” Asami says obliviously as she picks up the piece of fudge and looks at it from all angles.

“This…?” Korra tries to point at Asami and back at herself, but she gets dizzy trying to follow her own fingers and slumps over and laughs, “Heh he he he he he hehh.” 

Asami tries to straighten her back up but she grasps Korra’s arms a bit too hard and Korra notices, so Asami apologizes, “Sorry,” and she giggles. “I think we need to sit down,” she tries to look around for a chair. 

Korra gets disappointed that the session’s going to be interrupted with looking around for chairs, so she shakes her head. “It’s okay, I can stand.” 

“Oh, I know! I'll hold you up!” Asami scoots next to Korra and reaches her arm over. 

Korra is so close, she can get a whiff of Asami's perfume and see the smooth underside of her neck. She snaps out of it and says, "Hey, when'd you get so tall?" 

Asami looks down at her and Korra can't tell if she's looking at her or somewhere lower. The raven haired woman looks at her with serious, squinted eyes and says in a hoarse whisper, "Puberty." She giggles.

“Asami, I cannot believe you’re laughing at the word puberty.”

“Why? Why can’t I laugh at the word puberty?”

“Oh, just shush your mouth and eat the fudge.” 

Asami takes the piece of fudge and smiles for a second. She glances at Korra, who looks at her suspiciously. Asami sounds like she’s suppressing a laugh and before Korra can ask, Asami shoves the fudge into Korra’s mouth. It feels warm and slippery from being melted in Asami’s palm. Korra wants to spit it out, but Asami takes the melted streaks of fudge on her finger and smudges a quick mustache on Korra’s face. 

“Asami!” Korra squeals angrily.

“Sorry, I forgot your angry eyebrows,” Asami says in an angelic voice and drunkenly draws two diagonal lines above Korra’s real eyebrows. 

With four eyebrows and a fudge mustache, Korra crosses her arms. 

“Take a look, puberty looks good on you,” Asami intensely fishes around her pockets with her tongue stuck out in great effort and Korra feels something tighten in her lower stomach. Asami pulls out a compact mirror and covers her mouth to prevent herself from bursting from laughter. 

Korra snatches the mirror from her and flips it open. What she sees makes her laugh so hard that she can barely hold onto the compact in her hand. Her hand is holding her stomach and she kneels down, laughing tears lining her eyes as she tries to say something to Asami. Asami, also laughing, looks half-concerned because Korra is kneeling on the ground, but also drinks in Korra’s exuberant expression. 

“Hey--hey,” Korra says between breaths, “you have to drink---one of these cactus juices,” She pulls herself up to the counter, “every time---you--- laugh at--- this face--- you just scribbled on me.” 

Asami puts both hands over her mouth in an overly dramatic expression. “That’s going to be sooo hard!” 

“I dare you,” Korra points her finger at Asami’s shoulder and shoots her a challenging look. Asami’s face struggles so hard to prevent contortion, but Korra’s angry face with four eyebrows breaks her,” HAHA HA HA HA HA HA! Oh damn it!” Asami says while she downs one of the drinks. She wipes her mouth with her sleeve. “Look at what I did to your bee-yoo-ti-full face,” she says like she’s talking to a sad puppy. 

Korra sticks out her hands like paws and frowns. Asami’s laughter, which has sounded like the most fulfilling thing this whole night, fills the air again. “Ugh! That one tasted like motor oil.”

“HA!” Korra points at Asami. “You know how motor oil tastes like!” 

“Uhh, noooo?” 

“Mako owes me 100 yuans.” 

“Whaaat?”

“We had a bet that you spend so much time in theee motor shop that you eat motor oil and drink rubber…. wait, or was it the other way around?” Korra scratches her head. 

Asami laughs again. “You’re too adorable.”

“Hey! That was a laugh! You down the next one!” Korra holds up the glass, which feels heavier than she imagined, so her hand swerves a little.

Asami uses both hands to grab the glass that’s aimlessly swirling in air, so that she’s effectively holding Korra’s hand. Asami’s mouth hangs slightly open as she tries to process the sight of their hands holding onto one glass. Korra glances at her hands and back at Asami before she quickly pulls away. Asami accidentally drops the glass as she loses her grip. 

CRASH

“DAMN!” Korra shouts after the glass shattered on the floor. Asami’s eyes blink a few times at the shattered glass as if she’s unsure of what just happened. 

Fortunately, the tasting room was bustling with people at this point, so it went unnoticed.

Asami leans closer to Korra. Korra watches her with anticipation. “We should leaaaveeee,” Asami finally whispers loudly to Korra. Korra feels a soft air of fruity cactus juice brush on her face from Asami’s whisper. Korra gulps and nods. She hastily uses her foot to sweep most of the glass under the counter to prevent others from stepping on the glass. Asami pulls out a generous tip and slips it under one of the cactus juice glasses.

“Come on,” Korra says as she leads Asami towards the exit. Half way through the juicery, Korra glances over her shoulder to check if Asami is following her.

Asami is bobbing her head and waving her arms as she dances behind an oblivious man involved in an intense conversation. Before she starts to air-freak the guy, Korra runs over to her and grabs her arm. 

“Heyyyy,” Asami tries to shout in protest.

“No dancing with strangers, Miss Saaa-toe,” Korra says as she tries to lead them out of the crowded tasting room and her head fights with her on what is left and what is right. 

“Kill joy,” Asami whispers in Korra’s ear. 

They reach a clearing near the exit and Asami pulls Korra to her, “Can I dance with you then?”

“While we’re...cactied?” Korra says in a daze, fighting a temptation to just lean into Asami’s chest. 

Asami blinks as her head is processing the word, ‘cactied,’ and it wakes up something in her. She abruptly reaches for the exit door and pushes it open. The cold night air sends shivers down her spine. 

"I don't think I should drive," she says as she leans against the wall. 

“Over there,” Korra pointed across the way at a brightly lit hotel. “We should stay there overnight.”

“Really?

“Yeah, yeah, why not?”

“Um, okay, let’s go.” 

As they approached the intersection to cross the street, Korra took a step forward, but Asami pushed her back. “Look both wayssss before crossing, Korra!” She shook a playful finger at Korra. Korra scoffed, grabbed Asami’s wagging finger, looked both ways, and ran across, dragging Asami behind her. 

Asami slightly stumbled, but she laughed at herself. “Come on, ssslowpoke,” Korra said as she glanced behind her. Asami stuck out her tongue.

As they approached the lobby entrance, Asami held out her arm to block Korra again. 

“Heyy, what’s--” Korra protested.

“Your four eyebrows may be too ssshapely for the public,” Asami whispered as she tried to keep her balance. 

Korra held her forehead and shook her head. “I toootally forgot. What are we going to doo?”

“Here,” Asami said in a squeaky voice as she dramatically licked her forefinger. Then she briskly tried to rub off the Korra’s fudge eyebrow with her finger, before Korra pushed her hand away. “Hey!” Korra said while laughing. “Old ladies do that...”

Asami shrugged while she laughed throatily and nonchalantly wiped her fingers on her pants. “Stay here then, fudgey. I’ll get us a room.”

“Alright, alright. Good luck.”

*  
“Hello, Madam! How can we help you today?” the perky receptionist greeted. 

“One room, one night for two please,” Asami tried to say with as much composure as she could muster in the brightly lit lobby. She pulled out a handful of yuan bills and slammed them a little too aggressively on the counter. She cleared her throat to dispel some of her anxiety.

 

“Well, I only have one premium king bed suite available for tonight. Will that be okay, madam?”

“Shu-ure,” Asami stuttered as her stomach rolled thinking about sharing a bed with Korra. 

“Alright, do you have any baggage that you’d like us to bring up to the room?”

“Nooope, I keep it all bottled inside!” Asami laughed and lightly slapped the counter, but the receptionist stared at her with a worried expression. “Hahaha… hmm, am I all set?” Asami said with lowered eyes and a contained smile. 

*

“Oh my, this is a niiiiceee rooom, Asamiiii,” Korra said as she opened the door and the lights automatically switched on. A bed with golden embroidered sheets sparkled against the miniature chandelier that hung in the center of the room. A pair of cactus juice bottles with a note reflected against the polished wood coffee table. Korra reached for the bottle, “Complimentary?! Oh well, I thiiink I’ve had enough,” she plopped down on the plush sofa. 

Asami ducked into the bathroom. The hotel room air immediately made her feel dizzy. The glittering lights and elaborately ornate wall paper made her feel sick. The red carpet was too bright for her taste and almost made her want to puke. She hastily reached for the bathtub faucet and her hand slipped a few times before the roar of the water drummed through her ears. 

“Aaaasssami?” Korra called from the couch. “What’re you doing?” 

“Washing up, fudge-sicle... I won’t take long.”

“Ohh, take your tiiimee. I’m just gonna rest here… on this soft… comfy, couch…”

The bathroom door was open. The loud thrashing of water gushing into the bathtub hummed a soothing lullaby to Korra’s drunken senses as she drifted off to sleep. 

*  
Korra was not sure if her snoring or the cool water that had seeped into her shoes had woken her up. She jolted up when her eyes traced a dark stream of water into the bathroom. The room was foggy from hot steam. The room seemed to seesaw, but she ran towards the bathroom as the wet carpet squished beneath her. 

Once inside the bathroom, she saw Asami leaned against the wall, sitting on the edge of the overflowing bathtub. Korra swiftly reached for the faucet and turned it off. Water was everywhere. She shook Asami and she could see that Asami’s face was glistening and slight smudges of eyeliner left small black streaks below her eyes. 

“Asami! Wake up!” Korra just noticed that Asami was wearing a black bra and a skirt. 

Asami slowly opened her eyes and her head fell backwards, hitting the wall behind her. “Ow!” she muttered as she tried to process where she was. She saw that her black skirt was soaked through and she had forgotten to undress before stepping into the bathtub. “I was just resting a bit… and...”

“Umm, there is water EVERYWHERE!” Korra waved her arms around. 

Asami buried her face in her hands. “There’s so much at stake Korra...” she started to cry. “I’m a mess…We should’ve never--”

Korra softened a bit as she realized the once prim and proper Asami was now sitting on the edge of a bathtub in a flooded hotel room. “Hey,” Korra said gently. “It’s okay,” Korra held her closely. She sat down on the edge of the bathtub, not caring that it was wet, and dipped her fingers in the water. With one gentle stroking motion she rubbed off one of the black streaks on Asami’s face. Asami’s teary eyes were tired and sad. 

“Look up,” Korra said gently. Asami listened as Korra tried to clear the streaks closer to her bottom lid. Korra dipped her fingers back in the water. Then tears started to stream out of Asami’s eyes as she started sobbing uncontrollably. Korra tried to calm her and rocked her back and forth. She felt Asami’s heaving against her chest and she seemed to curl deeper into a ball. Resting her head against Asami’s, she tried gently stroking her arm to calm her down. And, eventually her sadness seemed to float out of the door. 

Softly whimpering, Asami slowly sat up. Korra shifted away. They both seemed to telepathically say to each other to head to bed. Sleepy and tired out, they silently maneuvered around. Korra helped Asami step out of the bathtub. As soon as Asami stepped into the hotel room, Korra waterbended the water into the drain. 

Korra helped Asami step out of the bathtub. As soon as Asami stepped into the hotel room, Korra waterbended all the water into the drain. 

Korra kicked off her shoes and slipped into the bed, feeling the silky smooth sheets against her skin was like a taste of heaven. Asami laid across from her with her back towards Korra. Korra listened to see if Asami was asleep. Her breathing seemed steady, so Korra turned off the light. 

The silence in the room seemed like static to Korra’s ears. She tried to close her eyes to calm her tingling nerves. The cactus juice coursed through her veins, throwing her into states of fatigue and awakeness. Finally, her breathing steadied itself and her ears were no longer ringing. The pain was over. 

“I’m sorry that I’m such a burden, Korra.” Asami’s voice, calm and awake pierced the darkness. 

Surprised, Korra shifted her head towards Asami, even though she couldn’t see in the dark. “You are never a burden, Asami. Don’t ever think that.” Korra said sincerely, but her words just didn’t sound like it was enough. 

Asami was quiet for a moment. Then she said plainly, “Cactus juice is overrated.”

“Yes, yes it is. Let's just race satomobiles next time.” 

“Deal...Sweet dreams, Korra.”

“Good night, Asami... Sleep tight.”


	5. Reunion

The server presented a plate of delectable seafood, but Korra and Asami barely noticed. He set it on the table, droned on about the preparation of the freshest seafood in all of Republic City, and bowed before pulling the private booth curtain closed. 

Korra turned to Asami, who was already intently looking at her. The candlelight centerpiece casted flames that danced in Asami's eyes. 

"I've missed you, Asami." 

Asami reached out and placed her hand on top of Korra's. "I've missed you too." She took a mental snapshot of their hands embracing. The warmth from Korra's hand seemed to reach all the way to her heart. It made her heart skip a beat. 

"Umm, can I kiss you?" The Avatar asked with a blush forming at the apples of her cheeks. 

"You can most definitely kiss me." She pulled her in and closed the gap, unleashing all curiosity and desire in a matter of seconds...but only to rekindle more. 


	6. Riding into the Night Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami takes Korra on a prototype

_Day drunk into the night, wanna keep you here  
'Cause you dry my tears  
Yeah, summer loving and fights  
How it is for us, and it's all because  
Now if we're talking body  
You got a perfect one, so put it on me  
Swear it won't take you long  
If you love me right  
talking body (tove lo) _

The night air caresses the heiress’ soft skin that glows from the orange street lamps. Asami leans against her motorcycle, watching the dark glass-like waves undulating under the dock. The mystery of the depths of the ocean intrigued her. Its power frightened her while also empowering her in a strange way. Her thoughts seemed to float on the tips of those tumbling waves, and then these ideas would explode as they crashed into the dock. She was nervous, a little anxious, but excited. These feelings were strange and new to her for this person that she was waiting for. She didn’t question them; it gave her a rush and the thought of _her_ made her heart skip a beat and unconsciously crack a smile. 

She grips onto her motorcycle helmet. It feels substantial and hard and it’s a portal into a world of speed, fury, and exhilaration. Her thoughts swirl within the confines of a globe and her eyes pierce the dark city streets through a sheet of glass. But for now, she was patiently listening to the calming crash of the waves beneath as the wind breezes over her leather riding pants. It almost made her forget what just happened last week. What happened last week. How in just a week her father brought a metallic arm onto her. The crash of the glass and how the mecha tank dashboard exploded into her face -- it was all too clear for her. She could still feel the prickly glass landing on her cheeks, how she fought the pain and fought back. She had to switch into combat mode to fight her own father, the one person who took her to self-defense classes. The one thing that was left of her family. Now, family became something of the past. Something she had treasured for so long had disappeared and slowly deteriorated before her eyes. The drained and maniacal face still haunted her in her dreams. The loving, fatherly smile that twisted into something she couldn’t recognize… 

“Hey…” Korra’s voice jerked the heiress out of her dark thoughts and lifted her to the surface of a fiery sunset glistening upon the ocean’s waves. Her voice was like the powerful ocean but calming and soothing on a hot summer day. She almost wanted to dunk her head below the surface and engulf herself in that sound to calm herself. Asami had to flip her head some ways back to get her hair out of her face. Whether she deliberately threw in a flirtatious hair-sweep or that was just out of habit, it didn’t matter because Korra saw it anyway. The avatar had a smug smirk on her face. 

Asami tried to suppress a smirk back at her. “Ready to test this prototype with me?” She tossed her a passenger helmet. 

The avatar got lost in a brief mental dialogue about how smooth Asami’s hair must have been. They have to talk about hair products some time. Or maybe she was born like that. How does it feel to run one’s fingers through that black silky hair? Like Naga’s pearly shiny fur when she’s bathed and groomed? Like Mako’s hair after a morning shower except much longer and on a head of petal-like skin? Then, a word that echoed inside her head that interrupted her lightning fast thoughts. Prototype? “Wait, prototype? Is this safe?” 

“Yeah, it cleared a crash test yesterday. I might lose a few limbs, but I’ll be alive.” Asami swung her leg over the leather seat and inserted the key into the ignition. The machine revved to life and it seriously fueled the blood in her veins. 

“Wait, what?” Korra said confused. She hadn’t moved a step closer.

Asami gave her a sideways glance and slightly pouted. “Are you saying you wouldn’t save me?” She ended with a chuckle as she walked the motorcycle over to Korra. 

“Well--- yeah, but… I don’t want--” Korra stuttered as the noise from the motorcycle was deafeningly drumming through her body. 

“I was joking!” Asami shouts over the noise as she rests her hands on her thighs. “It’s safe, Korra. Trust me.” She pats the seat behind her delicately. 

Korra smiles as she relishes the purr of Asami’s voice against a backdrop of waves and the roar of the motorcycle engine. The thought of going on a journey through the midnight city lights makes her heart flutter with excitement. It pumps her veins; she slips on her helmet and she hops onto the motorcycle with so much force, Asami stomps her foot down on other side to balance. Korra awkwardly grips the air, anything, around her to steady herself on this mechanical island. 

“Easy there,” Asami says as she leans forward. Korra’s hands settle onto Asami’s waist, unsure yet sure of where they’re supposed to be. Asami notices Korra is keeping her distance. “I won’t bite,” Asami says not seductively, but in a playful way, like they’re just friends, and she slides the visor down on her helmet. It settles Korra and she leans forward and wraps around Asami’s waist more assuredly. 

And before Korra is able to ask where they are actually going to ride, the motorcycle speeds off in breakneck acceleration through a blur of alleys, hanging clotheslines, and narrow streets. Korra closes her eyes because she thinks her helmet is now made of sugar glass and might crack any moment from the hanging awnings and clothes swinging their way. But she remembers she has a real helmet on and for goodness sake, she’s the Avatar. The sensation of riding on a motorcycle, a mechanical machine built with a person’s mind and hands, was foreign to her, but now she understood the rules. 

She watched the city lights streak by in fiery oranges, reds, and blinding white. The floor blurred into a sea of gravel and she could feel her own heart beating against her chest, against the slender back of Asami Sato. A sudden clearing revealed Republic City Bay in its full glory. Avatar Aang’s statue in an endless landscape of dazzling city lights reflected against the black sea glass below. Korra looked up to see the night sky was clear, like a deep blue cape of studded diamonds. 

Asami felt Korra relax and she smiled. For an actual second, she forgot that she had a passenger. The rush of riding through the streets on a machine plunged her mind into a cloud of tranquility. And emerging from that cloud of peace, she was more than happy to be greeted by the reality of Korra, her compassionate… companion? girl who was a friend? crush?? girl-friend that she flirted with? And, as soon as these questions popped up, so did her cloud of tranquility fade away. She distracted herself by speeding up again, even if there was a stampede of traffic headed their way.

Korra’s hands tightened around her waist. Then she tapped Asami’s shoulder, alarmingly pointing at the cars heading towards them. Korra was yelling in her helmet, seemingly screaming at herself because she realized Asami couldn’t hear her. Graceful. So, she pointed more and more, but Asami sped faster and faster, so Korra tapped harder and harder, but the prototype’s pitch whizzed higher and higher, the cars on the sato-high-way honked louder and louder, so Korra instinctively held her arms out to bend. 

Suddenly, Asami swerves onto a central divider with such precision as if she’s done this before and the motorcycle balances on this central divider. Korra’s eyes grow too wide for her face as she marvels at how they are able to balance on this sliver of concrete. The cars whoosh by in a symphony of beeps and roars of engines. Asami lifts her hand in a courteous, but not really courteous, way to calm the drivers down as the pair races down the divider. She doesn't really care, she wouldn't have crashed into them anyway. 

Asami smirks and she flips a switch on the motorcycle that enables her to take her hand off the handle and extends her elbow back a bit to nudge Korra. The avatar pokes her side back as payback but also plays along. Asami flips the switch back as she sees them dangerously near the end of the divider. Asami holds her breath and remembers how to fall should it happen and almost regrets taking Korra out and curses herself for half a second for being reckless and grips onto the handles for dear life. 

To be continued...


	7. Riding into the Night Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riding on the divider of life is not for the wary.

Continued...  
The floor slips out in a blink and the prototype stumbles onto the road, but regains balance. Korra thinks its luck, Asami thinks its Korra bending to save them last minute, and guilt crosses her mind for a second. And embarrassment. So, the heiress decides to ride back to the harbor instead of showing Korra the cityscape from a special spot in the mountains. It would be too far and she didn’t feel so comfortable about showing Korra her special hideout after this slight mess up. She slows down the motorcycle for the way back and Korra notices. Korra wants more. She wants more speed. More risks. More everything. 

She learns to listen to the wind, understand how it dances around them, permeates through every pore, every fiber of their being. Streaks of air flow from her palms like streams of water. They cycle in graceful weaves in the air; Korra’s own hands acting as sails. The motorcycle resists the propulsion at first, but Asami switches gears as if they’re racing down a decline to let the wheels feel release, a frictionless wind. The machine whirs as it reaches speeds never before tested and Asami can actually tell if the prototype can handle it. It’s like she’s connected to the life of the machine and she knows its endurance and limits. They speed through the empty streets like a flash of red and blue, leaving just a trace of a supersonic wrinkle in the blanket of the night. 

Korra hollars as the exhilarating rush of more speed, more air, more excitement rushes through her veins. She’s no longer dazzled by the lights around her, it’s all a blur. The warm body next to her as they sped _forward,_ charging into the unknown, plunging into mystery _face first_ was a gift of _vulnerability,_ , of blind excitement, of amazement and awe. It was like discovering the dancing northern lights in a world of darkness. Unsure of its origins, its benevolent or malevolent nature, but you were amazed at its existence, how it made you lose yourself in its ephemeral drizzles upon a blank nightsky, and you loved watching it, getting lost in it, because it just felt right and quenched a visual thirst. 

Then, Korra sees the bay again and it’s bittersweet because she’s knows its over, but it’s also a chance to share with Asami her bursting thoughts on how awesome everything has been. Asami breathes easier as they come closer to the familiar dock. She almost instantly misses the warmth that leaves her back as Korra leaps off the motorcycle. Upon removal of her helmet, a chilling breeze bites at her forehead as she notices some slight perspiration. 

“THAT WAS AWESOME!” Korra’s blue eyes flicker with excitement as she tugs at her side bangs. “Oh my goodness, Asami!”

“Wasn’t it?!” Asami only manages to say as Korra’s smile manages to make her glow from the inside and she thinks its showing, which is a silly thought now that she thinks of it. 

“And, that divider -- that was so close!" Korra’s hands are on her head, like she just witnessed a near racing accident, which is true. 

"Yeah, thanks for helping me out back there..." Asami furrows her brow out of slight embarrassment and leans against her motorcycle. 

"Help? I didn't help. That was all you!" Korra's motioning with her hands all over the place as the adrenaline is still pumping through her veins. 

Asami's eyes widen for a slight second at the realization that they had safely navigated off that divider due to her own finesse. However, it doesn't feed her ego. She doesn't know how she might forgive herself if something were to happen to Korra because of her mistake. 

Korra lets out a deep breath and rests her hands on her hips as she marvels at the machine before her. "I really wish they had motorcycles back home. These machines are fantastic." 

"You can have this one. I'll fix it up and drop off the keys at your place when I'm done." Asami eyes over the motorcycle and her creativity sparks with design ideas in her head. 

Korra jumps up in excitement and disbelief. "Wait, seriously?! You're going to just give me a motorcycle?" 

Asami breaks out of her zone of intense design patterns and gear tune-ups. "You're the Avatar, Korra. You should have one. And besides, you--" she stops before completing that with 'are special to me' as it sounds strange in this context but natural in her heart. She doesn't know why she pulls back so much. 

Korra's practically beaming and getting lost in the polished exterior of the motorcycle. She doesn't notice that Asami is having trouble finishing her sentence. 

"You deserve it." Asami finishes proudly. It makes total sense to her in so many ways. Korra had just expressed concern over her poll numbers and people don't seem to thank her for endless commitment to her duty. The woman before her was driven and determined in the face of hardship, and Asami admired that about her. She wanted to see and help her grow to her full potential. 

"Thanks!" Korra leaps into Asami for a hug which catches her off guard as she nearly falls over this motorcycle, for the second time. Asami laughs as she steadies herself in Korra's strong, safe embrace. For a moment it feels as if she could freeze time, she would enjoy this moment of being held in Korra's arms for eternity. Maybe not that long but for a long time. "Goodness, you give great hugs," Asami says. 

Korra chuckles as she's heard that one many times growing up. "I know, it's probably an avatar thing." She pulls away and lingers a bit. 

"I've known you a while and I think it's a Korra thing." Asami says with a glowing heart. She gives Korra's shoulder a gentle squeeze. 

Asami's heartwarming gaze is enough to melt Korra, and Korra can't tell whether that wave of emotion rising in her is just pure happiness or the adrenaline. “Asami, you’re just totally awesome.” 

The heiress brushes a hair out of her face. “Oh, speak for yourself.” Then she notices how late it must be. “Let’s get you back.” She swings her leg over and hooks her helmet onto the back of the machine. 

Korra follows suit, and confidently wraps her arms around Asami’s waist. Asami likes how that feels because Korra doesn’t seem afraid of overstepping boundaries with her anymore. There weren’t any in the first place. And, Asami realizes that she has friends who are girls, but she doesn’t feel the same way about them as she does with Korra. Korra’s always had a special place in her heart. It was just strange because she was a girl. And that meant that she was… no… really? Maybe there was some connection to her that just grew stronger because of the Avatar’s unspoken and natural attractive abilities. That’s probably it. Curse, the unknown laws of the universe and the Avatar’s powers. Or, Asami might just be... really fond (?) of Korra… really fond… the thought kind of made her heart skip a beat as they rode to the ferry station. Even her own thoughts couldn’t string the right words together. 

Asami’s hair tickles Korra’s face and she tries to blow it out of her face, but it doesn’t work because there’s wind blowing everywhere. She just clumps it all in one hand and Asami glances back with a confused expression and then laughs. She leans back and tries to smother Korra with it and Korra says, “Hey!” but really her hair is really smooth and smells amazing. Asami leans forward again and Korra just lets her hair fly freely in the wind and she just leans her cheek into Asami’s back and it feels really intimate for a second, but Korra just lets the hum of the motorcycle and the darkness of the night cast over her. 

They arrived at the dock. Asami slowed down to a stop. “Here’s your stop. I’ll probably drop off the keys in a few days. I have some design ideas that might take a while. I’ll run them by you before I make any big changes.” 

Korra hopped off and the thought of waiting to see her for a few days created an emptiness inside of herself. It usually means she really likes the person and wants to spend time with them. But then there was another element to this... this physical need that Korra didn’t fully recognize. So, she gave Asami another hug, hoping to prolong the moment. “Thanks. But I trust your judgement on designs. Hey--” She pulls back as an idea pops into her head. "How about we tour the city on Naga?”

“That sounds great!” Asami beams.

“I mean, you probably know the city better than I do… but I think Naga makes it a rather, um, different experience. A fun experience, no doubt!” 

“Of course, I’d love it.”

And if it had been quiet, the full weight of those words would have created a rosy atmosphere. But the metallic snorts of the motorcycle polluted the air. 

So they set a date and time for another night of possibilities. And Asami watched to make sure Korra safely got onto the small boat. Korra found that endearing. Then there was an awkward moment where they were both watching each other, waiting for one of them to depart. And they both felt embarrassed, thinking the other must have thought they were strange for lingering. So they hurriedly scurried away with a hasty wave and goodbye. 

And, maybe it was how cool Asami looked on her motorcycle against the dazzling backdrop of the street lights and her slender legs draped over a beast of a machine...Or it was how hauntingly beautiful Korra looked as her caramel skin glowed beneath orange globe lights and her sky blue figure shimmering in the night…

No, that was all background. It was how they were both fueled by a passion, a desire for adventure; A mutual understanding of living the night as far as time would allow; How they both worked with each other to make each other smile; And once that smile, that laugh, that chuckle rung in the air, it also ignited something deep inside of them that they wanted to kindle and fan and flame to an all consuming fire that incinerated all doubt and fear; The electric chemistry between them that buzzed louder than the roaring machine that carried their heart pounding souls; and beyond all this noise drumming inside of them, they radiated pure light and joy, so smooth and sweet that the heavens sang and the sun’s golden rays of radiance shone through their eyes. Perhaps it was this. Maybe it was both. But both of them were mesmerized on their way home as they rode home in the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so word vomit. Grammar is like what? Stream of consciousness sort of. symbolism hell yeah.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sparring newlyweds. sometimes i feel sappy...

“We haven’t sparred in a while,” Asami says as she flexes her boxing gloves. 

“I hope you’re not a little rusty,” Korra says with a smile and cracks her neck left and right. 

“Oh? Miss Avatar is getting competitive now?” Asami says as she gets into position in the ring.

“Well, Miss Sato a.k.a the Avatar’s wife, you should know me by now.” She jogs in place to warm up.

“I know you, which is why I’m going to pin you down.” Asami says with a raised eyebrow. 

“Not if I pin you first,” Korra says as she raises her arms to her face. 

“Round One!” the Sato family butler announces and rings a bell. He bows and departs to clean up the shower room. 

“Hey, isn’t he supposed to watch if we’re following the rules?” Korra says as she watches him walk away. 

Asami tackles her to the ground. Korra grunts at the impact. Asami straddles her. “The only rule is love your opponent.” She kisses her on the nose. 

Korra scoffs. “You’re getting sappy on me already?”

“How can I not when you look so cute in your workout outfit?” 

“Asami,” Korra chuckles and rests her head on her hands. “You look hot, but how is this good combat practice?”

“Alright, fine,” Asami gets up and holds out her hand to help Korra onto her feet. Korra takes her hand and pulls her towards the ground. Asami smirks in that half-second tug of war as she pushes Korra back down with her other arm and straddles her again.

“Were you trying to trick me?” Asami says with a playful wagging of her finger. 

“Maybe,” Korra pouts and crosses her arms. “I just can’t get past you. Darn you…” Korra delicately frames Asami’s face in her hands, “and your brilliant mind.” She brings her face down to meet hers and they kiss. Asami kisses her back and smiles into it. 

“Are you wearing lychee flavored chapstick?” Asami whispers and she smacks her lips. 

“Yes,” Korra says and brings Asami’s lips into hers again. Korra flips her over as she gets into the moment. Asami yelps ungracefully as Korra straddles her. “Every time,” Korra smirks.

Asami lets out a high-pitched sigh. “Just kiss me.”

And there was no sparring done that day.


	9. it feels amazing when you hold me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> all the loveeee

Korra air bends silk covers onto the bed in the vast master bedroom. She can hear every rain drop as it pitter patters onto the large french window. A flash of lightning illuminates the room in a brief second. After she sheds her robe and tosses it onto a nearby plush chair, she crawls into bed and slightly shivers at the coolness of the sheets against her skin. A radiating heat emanates from her skin to warm up her surroundings. 

The clock ticks on rather noisily as she lays there, waiting for Asami to come to bed. The CEO worked in her study downstairs and occasionally dropped by the bedroom to use the master bathroom. Korra struggled to keep her eyes open. Many thoughts swirl in her head about city policy implementation and meetings with Republic City.

Twenty minutes pass and Korra wonders why Asami is held up this late at night. The thought worries her, but she remembers she has to be used to the fact that they both have busy, unpredictable schedules. It was a good thing, she reminded herself. Idleness is the evil of...something, Korra couldn’t remember what the idiom was. She sighed as another roll of thunder seemed to shake the entire threshold. An indeterminable amount of time passed.

Finally, she gave up resisting her tiredness and fatigue. Slumber took over for what felt like just a second before movement on her side jolted her awake.

“Sorry,” Asami whispered as she shuffled into the sheets. Korra tried to open her eyes to see her. They felt so heavy. She reached for Asami’s hand and held it in her hand. 

“What… time is?” Korra didn’t bother finishing her sentence. 

“11:27pm,” Asami answered as she snuggled closer to Korra. Asami pecked her lightly on the shoulder and snuggled closer. 

“Hey,” Korra almost grunted. She realized that she might have sounded angry. Asami stopped shuffling. 

“Yeah?” She whispered. 

“Can you… make sure I don’t fall asleep next time?”

“... Why? You can fall asleep if you want, sweetie.” 

Korra shifted to her side to face her, but she didn't open her eyes. She sleepily said, “I want to remember each night that I fall asleep with you in my arms.” 

Korra could almost hear Asami smiling. Korra peeked open one of her eyes to check, and she was right. Her raven maiden was beaming and her smile was like the moon in the night sky framed in the french window behind her. 

Then, Asami lightly laughed and whispered with one eye open, imitating Korra's face, “Hold me, Korra.” 

Korra grinned and kept one eye open. She stuck out her arm in the air for Asami to roll on in. And, the Avatar's arms wrapped Asami in a loving embrace.


	10. Girlfriend Perks

"Oh, Korra, you're going to tip over my vanity table," Asami said between giggles as the Avatar kissed her on the neck. Korra held her fully on the waist with her hands, ready to lift Asami off her feet. They were leaning onto the sturdy piece of furniture and it started to wobble towards the empty space near the wall.

"I'm sorry," Korra stopped with a puppy dog eagerness and gazed into Asami's jade green eyes. "It's hard to stop."

Asami kissed her on the cheek, and caressed the soft curve of Korra's cheekbone. Then the engineer suddenly had an idea. "Hey, I never showed you my collection..." She twisted around and started opening and closing drawers without explanation. 

Korra slightly scratched her head. "Collection of what?" 

"This!" Asami released a dozen sticks of cosmetic supplies onto the empty space of the vanity table. The supplies clattered and rolled everywhere. Asami continued to search for more geometric boxes and colorful palettes. She seemed to unearth them onto the vanity table like buried treasure. 

Meanwhile, Korra just watched with amazement and bewilderment. "That's... That's a lot of stuff you got there." 

"I know," Asami said with some pride and shame. Her head was completely out of view as she reached into a cabinet. "It's accumulated over the years."

"And... You use all of this?" With two fingers, Korra gingerly picked up a slim stick that appeared alien in its function-- well, everything looked alien and she sort of questioned the usefulness of everything. 

"No, I had a pretty bad habit of buying all this junk and then only sticking with one. I wish they came up with samples. Also, I sort of--ow!" Asami hissed as her finger slit open from a star shaped compact. 

"Are you okay?!" Korra exclaimed as she kneeled down and gently placed her hand on Asami's shoulder. Asami held her finger and pursed her lips in a downward pout. "Just a cut," she waved her finger away and continued digging into the numerous drawers. "Anyway, I was saying, before I got so busy with work, I had too much free time with all this."

Korra got up and walked briskly to the bathroom for some healing water. She came back to find Asami rearranging the cosmetics in neat rows and grouping them by some unknown laws of the universe. 

"Let me see your finger," Korra said tenderly. 

"Korra," Asami said without lifting her eyes from her serious task on the vanity table. "It's just a small cut." 

"Come on, it'll be really quick." 

"You know," Asami held up her hand without looking up. "I could just use a healing bandage." 

Korra healed the small cut in a nanosecond and held her hand. "Or, you could see how the Avatar is standing right here," Korra gestures to her entire body, "and can heal you right away." 

"Okay, okay. Well, since you said you're standing right here, I want to try a few things." Asami's face had the word mischief and intrigue and curiosity written all over it. 

Korra glanced at her and then at the vanity table and back at her. "Try... What do you mean, 'try'?" Korra squinted her eyes and crossed her arms. 

"You know, make up stuff!" Asami said with a chipper voice than usual. She laced her hands together and held them close to her face. The CEO seemed to age backwards ten years, if that was possible. 

"Whoa, whoa. The last time I tried this make up was actually here in your house and I looked crazy after that ordeal."

"Really? When?"

"In your powder room, downstairs." Korra pointed downwards when Asami did not appear to understand her. 

"There's make up in there?" Asami said with her head cocked to the side. 

"I don't know, I think? There's this poofy thing and a powder in a container and I made this cloud of dust that just made me look like a ghost or something!" 

Asami nodded her head in comprehension. "That's different, Korra." 

"How? It's stuff you put on your face so isn't it make up?"

"Yeah..." Asami conceded a little, "but that's not this make up." She waved her arm at the procession of make up tools. 

Korra considered her options for moment. "Okay, fine. I'm curious as to what Miss Sato has up her sleeve to Asami-ify this face." She plopped down on the vanity stool. 

Asami hovered over the collection of foundation liquids, powders, and everything in between before settling on one. 

"Mm, what's that? It smells good," Korra hummed as she enjoyed the mini-facial. "And it smells like you in the morning."

"My moisturizer. Hints of ginseng and jasmine." Asami softly said as she learned the landscape of Korra's face through her hands. 

"Mm. I'll just remember it as 'Asami in the Morning.'"

"You're a poet, you know that?" Asami said with sarcasm in her voice. 

"You know you love it." Korra's flashed her best set of bedroom eyes. 

Asami playfully rolled her eyes. "You can't always use those eyes on me." She always found Korra's unabashed love endearing. 

"Why? Does it drive you crazy?" 

"You always do." 

"Yup," Korra said with a sigh of triumph. "The Avatar state isn't the only thing that flows through them." 

"Oh, shush," Asami said in a teasing voice. "I'll make something else flow through them with an eyeliner pencil if need be." 

Korra smiled a little too wide right when Asami's brushed near her mouth. The bristles of the brush grazed the inside of her mouth. She coughed as the powder hit her tongue and the back of her throat. 

Asami backed up her hands. "Sorry! Did I mention to hold still?" 

Korras coughs turned into laughs. "I'm not meant for this." 

Asami lightly tapped the tip of Korra's nose. "No ones 'meant' for this, it's just fun for yourself." 

Korra took a deep breath and exhaled. She closed her eyes. "Okay, commence the magical fun-ness." 

"Korra, you can open your eyes, I'm not working on your eyes." 

"I need some direction, Sifu Asami." 

"Okay, hold still."

Korra nodded. 

"You know, it was easy persuading you to do this," Asami said as she painted and traced onto Korra's face. "I thought it would be just slightly easier than convincing Mako to pluck his eel shark brows." 

"Yeah, well, perks of having a girlfriend." Korra said. 

"Perks of having you as one," Asami said. 

"And you." 

"Miss Poet, you may now close your eyes." 

Korra followed her order. Asami began tracing her eyes and tried to do it as lightly as possible as she was afraid Korra would twitch from the sensation and Asami would literally poke her eyes out. 

Surprisingly, Korra held her eye closed like a veteran as Asami lined both of her eyes. Asami stood back, impressed. "Have you done this before?"

"Not speak for a full minute while you're standing inches close to me? Yes. Many a time. You're breathtaking." Korra propped an arm on to the vanity table.

Asami laughed and lowered herself and gave Korra a full kiss on the lips. "Just testing these babies out before I apply some lipstick." 

Korra licked her lips and chuckled. "You wanna test some other things out?" 

"Maybe," Asami teased as she looked at Korra up and down. 

"Heh heh heh," Korra laughed as she blushed. 

Asami applied the rest of cosmetics to Korra's face. "There you go!" She twisted Korra's shoulders for her to peer into the vanity mirror. 

"Wow, that's... That's interesting." Korra said as she flexed her eyebrows, watching them undulate in defined lines. She widened and squinted her eyes to see the enhanced effects of her facial expressions. She rotated her face left and right to look at her cheeks. Then she glanced at the supplies before her. "Wait, you barely used any of the stuff you dug out."

"What can I say, you don't need much, or more like anything at all." Asami shrugged and she began to massage Korra's shoulders. 

"Neither do you but you still go through the motions everyday."

"Yeah, it's fun I guess." 

"Then I feel cheated out of this experience. Ah, that's the spot," The avatar moaned as Asami worked out a knot in her back. "At least don't waste all this. You must've spent a fortune on all of this." 

"Wait, are you saying you want to put more on?" 

"Yes! Why is that hard to believe?"

"Oh, its not hard to believe...Sure, I was going to show you the complete collection but..."

"But what?"

"Well, I was going to start removing it all from your face and then your arms and your back..." 

"My arms? You didn't put any on my arms or my--" Korra's eyes grew wide. Asami ran her hands all along Korra's arms and back. "Oh! Then, let's start make up removal, stat. " 

Asami sat down in Korra's lap and whispered. "I can't wait for us to sample moisturizers." 


	11. Greek-ish AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some greek mythology short story.

She pouted and plopped in the field of wheat bowing in the wind. Hot tears streamed down her face. She held a dead rabbit in her arms. 

A gentle voice chimed from behind her. “Hi.” 

It startled her. Korra looked back. She sloppily wiped her tears away. “Hi...” She resumed her fetal position. 

“What do you have there?” The inquisitive young girl with jet black hair asked. 

“My pet rabbit.”

“Oh. It looks like it's dead.” The girl looked concerned.

“Not yet. I'm holding onto it until I can figure out what to do with its body.” Korra stroked the rabbit gently. 

“I'm sorry…” A silence passed between them. “I can give it a nice place to rest if you'd like.” 

“Really?” Korra asked, her voice cracking. 

“Yeah, of course,” the girl smiled compassionately. 

Korra placed its body down by the girl’s feet. 

In a blink of an eye, flowers and green grass began to grow around and envelop the poor rabbit. Small heads of carrots popped up from the fertile earth and a small pomegranate tree formed. 

Korra’s eyes lit up with wonder. “Thank you so much,” Korra said with a small smile. Then, Korra whispered into the rabbit's ear. She kissed her two fingers and placed them on the rabbit’s head. The rabbit soon became lifeless and appeared at peace. 

“How did you do that?” 

“I'm Korra, daughter of the god of the underworld.” Korra recited by rote memory. Then she gestured to the small patch of green earth before them. “How did you do that?” she asked the girl.

“I'm Asami, daughter of the goddess of the harvest,” she replied also in the same manner. “Are you supposed to be in the upper world?”

“No, I’m not. If my dad finds out, I’ll be in big trouble.” Korra admitted. She twiddled with a twig between her fingers. “Can you… can you keep a secret?”

“Your secret is safe with me!” Asami said. “Here, I’ll make you a flower crown.”

“A what?” 

Before answering, Asami knelt down. Her hands hovered over the ground and flower buds sprouted from the earth. She expertly threaded the stems of olive tree flowers and violets together. Korra watched with her face resting on her palms. Her tears had stopped flowing.

Asami plopped the flower crown on Korra’s head. However, it disappeared as soon as she dropped it onto her head. “Your hair… it’s...”

“It’s all smoke and shadow, yeah I know.” Korra said as she waved her hand through the black cloud that rested on her scalp. 

“Whoaaa.” Asami watched, wide eyed. “Can I touch it?” 

“Sure, it doesn’t feel like anything.” 

Asami waved her hand back and forth and experimented with the way the smoke moved and regenerated itself. “It looks like you have real hair, but it’s not really there. That’s so interesting.” 

“You’re the first person to say that.” 

“Oh… why is that?”

“I’m not really sure. I guess most people like hair like yours.” 

Asami looked at her hair. She pulled a dagger from her belt and cut off a lock of hair. 

Korra gasped. “What are you doing?!”

Asami examined her lock of hair from end to end. She shrugged. “It’s not as cool as yours.”

Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook. Asami looked at Korra. 

“Uh oh, sorry, I have to go now. It was nice meeting you, Asami.”

“You too, Korra! See you soon?” 

“Yeah!” 

The two girls went their separate ways. An oakwood tree cracked open and a portal formed to the underworld. After Korra stepped through, she noticed something had caught onto her clothing. It was Asami’s lock of hair. Korra kept it in a locket until they met again.


	12. Greek-ish AU part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some Greek mythology influence

Greek-ish AU part 2

Korra stood in the fields of wheat dancing in the wind. She peered up at the expansive blue sky above and the sun shine brightly in her blue eyes. The warmth from the Sun’s rays felt great on her skin. 

Her father, Tonraq, waved at her across the field. “Come, Korra! It's time to go,” he called. Her mother waited patiently beside him. 

Korra reluctantly began to walk over with her hand held out among the wheatgrass, feeling it tickling her palm. A locket hung around her neck and beat against her chest as she walked. 

A large oak tree expanded and formed a portal in its trunk. Her father waited patiently by this door to the underworld. 

Korra didn't want her time above ground to end. She stopped, just a few feet away from her father. “I don't want to leave,” she said indignantly, avoiding eye contact with her father. 

“Korra, we've been through this. We’ll be back soon.” 

Korra’s mother, Senna, beckoned her over. “Come on, sweetheart. I'll start your favorite supper while I wait for you down below.” Her mother entered the portal and the darkness enveloped her in a blink of an eye. 

Korra said nothing. She could hear the wind whistling to her, it was soothing.

“Korra, your mother’s waiting for us.” Tonraq held out his hand for his teenage daughter. 

She finally conceded. However the moment she did, she spotted someone running through the fields. “Oh, look, dad! She's here! Asami's here!”

A girl with hair black as night and skin radiant as the snow waved excitedly at her friend across the fields. 

“Korra, it's time to go. We have to leave now.” 

“But she just got here!” 

“Korra, I know you want to stay, but we can't stay longer. Our time is up.” He cautiously watched the sky above. 

Korra turned away and ran to meet her friend across the way. They smiled at each other as they cleared the paths before them. They were a few meters away until the sky turned gray. 

Suddenly, the earth beneath Korra’s feet turned black. The golden wheatgrass around her began to wilt. The Sun's rays burned her golden skin to a fiery red. She screamed in pain. 

With a shadowy hand and arm of smoke, Tonraq quickly formed a shield around him and his daughter. He pulled her close and leapt into the portal, shutting it with a loud snap of the oakwood bark. 

Tonraq and Korra tumbled down the stone steps to the underworld. Tonraq ran over to Korra to make sure she was okay. He cradled her head in his arms. Almost immediately, she pushed herself out of his arms, and stomped down the dock of the river of Styx. 

“Korra!” 

“I know what you're going to say, just save it. You're going to lecture me about how I need to be careful. Yeah, well I've just about had it with getting hurt just because I want to spend a minute longer above ground!” She stopped at the dock’s edge and stared at the glassy surface of the river. 

“Look, Korra, you have to understand. The order of the gods maintain order between the upper and underworld. There are rules that we must follow, especially during these times.” Tonraq tried to control his temper in front of his teenage daughter, but she was growing out of control. He could feel his vein popping out of the side of his skull. The river Styx started to bubble and churn as a reflection of his emotions. 

“The order of the Gods? I'm so sick of hearing of how we have to accept how the way things are!” Korra’s screamed. Her voice was rising to a shrill. “Isn't Unalaq your own brother?!” 

“Enough!” Tonraq hollered and the walls trembled. Already bearing wrinkles and cracks from previous scuffles between the father and daughter, the cave walls of the underworld seemed ready to collapse.“What has gotten into you?! You have no idea what's going on with Mt. Olympus and the Underworld at the moment. ”

“No. I guess I don't, father, since no one likes to tell me anything!”

Senna appeared on a ferry right beside them. “Can you two please stop arguing for once these days? 

“He made me leave right when Asami came.” 

“Korra, dear, we need to be careful these days.”

“What does that even mean? So, I can't even have friends from the upper world?” 

“You can be friends with whoever you want to be friends with.” 

“Okay, then can you tell dad before he pulls me back home again like a lamb being herded into its pen?” 

“Tonraq…” Senna crossed her arms. 

“Senna, the sun started to burn her. I can't let the elements hurt us and remind us that we don't belong up there.”

Senna didn't relent. “She'll have to learn on her own, Tonraq. Weren't you just as dense growing up?”

Korra stomped her foot. “Hey! All I wanted to do was return this to her.” She yanked the necklace from her neck. 

“Who? I thought you said you found this somewhere,” Tonraq asked. 

“Well, yeah,” Korra scratched her head. “Technically, yes, maybe.” 

“Korra.”

“It's nothing, alright? I just want to return it but now I have to wait until dawn. Ugh. You all exhaust me.” 

She marched into her chamber and slammed the door. Right upon her entry, her three headed dog, Cerberus, pounced on her. “Slow down there,” she called out. With one arm, she pushed the dog over. It scrambled back into its four legs. She grabbed three dead rats from a golden goblet by the door and tossed them towards Cerberus. “Here you go, Cerbie.” 

She threw the locket onto a nearby shelf and began to disrobe. After gobbling the dead rats, Cerberus perked up at the sound of the locket hitting the shelf. It sniffed the locket. 

“Don't eat it, Cerbie!” Korra warned.

It snatched the locket in one of its mouths. 

“Hey!” Korra reached out to restrain it. 

Cerbie managed to open the chamber door and ran out. 

Korra grunted and hastily strapped on her armor once again. She chased after it, knocking over the torches that lit the caves, causing the halls to become pitch black. Her eyes glowed like blue fire in the darkness. 

“Cerbie!” She hollered to echolocate her unruly dog. Korra heard her dog panting near the dock of Styx. “Oh, great!” 

Once at the dock, Cerberus had already crossed the river and started to ascend the steps to the portal to the upper world. Korra zipped across the river in a cloud of black smoke. She tackled her dog and tumbled down the steps with it. She wrestled the locket from its three mouths. “Bad dog!” Korra scolded. 

Cerberus growled and dropped its ears. It whined and bowed towards the ground. 

“You can't go out there, Cerbie.” Korra said as she tried to wipe off the dog slobber from the locket. 

Cerberus shook its heads in disagreement. It pointed its tail towards the portal. 

Perplexed, Korra knelt down to look into its eyes. Before she could try to comprehend, her father appeared across the way. 

“Korra!” Tonraq called to her. “Where do you think you're going?” 

“Dad, I'm not going anywhere. Cerbie -” 

“Don't blame this on Cerberus. Step away from that portal, right now.” The river began to churn. 

“I'm moving alright? Calm your fire.” She sauntered down the steps with Cerberus by her side. “Cerberus took this locket from me and I was just trying to get it back.” 

Tonraq raised his hand to dismiss her explanation and walked away. Korra stuck out her tongue at his back. 

Tonraq whistled and Cerberus ran towards him, anxious for a treat. 

As Korra watched the dog run towards him, it gave her an idea


End file.
